Kotkapura: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched an offensive against AAP, calling it an “outsider” that is “dreaming of creating its own world” at the cost of Punjab and asked voters to send the party back from where it had come.
Modi, who addressed a poll rally in the Malwa heartland, asked the electorate to vote for the SAD-BJP combine for the third time, warning that Punjab as well as the entire nation could face a “crisis” if government led by any party other than the alliance comes to power. “In this election, to destroy Punjab, it (AAP) is eager to create its own world at the cost of the state. Those who are having such dreams should be sent back to Delhi from where they have come,” he said, apparently hitting out at the new entrant AAP in the state.
He also asked the people to first question AAP as to what it promised and the responsibilities it honoured in Delhi.
Holding that the fate of Punjab is linked with that of the nation, he warned the people of the state that Punjab as well as the country would have to face consequences in case the “government of outsiders and government of people leading a luxurious lifestyle” is voted to power, in an apparent dig at both AAP and Congress.
Batting for SAD-BJP government for Punjab, Modi asserted that the state required a government of the combine which could guarantee safety of the nation.
With Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal pointing out to him that foul language was being used against Parkash Singh Badal by his political opponents, Modi said it was painful and gave the example of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Punjab CM for never having used such words in their political discourses. “But when such bad words are used and are being uttered against Badal, pain is natural,” said Modi, asking Harsimrat and her husband Sukhbir Badal to not have high expectations from “such people”.
Targeting AAP and Congress for their alleged “foul language”, Modi said his party never indulged in bad mouthing of political opponents. “We have fought against Congress. We used to say we will hold an inquiry and accused will be brought under the ambit of law…and we never say we will send this or that person to jail,” he said.
“The nation has given us the power to uphold the law of the land. But today the kind of language is being used…They wanted to send (former Delhi CM) Sheila Dixit to the jail but now Dixit has been named the CM candidate for UP,” he said. Apparently targetting Kejriwal, Modi said, “But this is the (foul) language of a dictator…does a democracy run like this?” “There could be dispute between political parties and if the principle of democracy is broken, then country will face harm,” he said.
Modi also took a swipe at AAP for accusing him of running the Election Commission. “I went to Goa…When somebody comes to know that they are facing defeat (Goa polls) then they start creating a situation, find ways to wriggle out of the situation. What they promised in Goa, they gave interviews to newspapers, saying that Modi was calling the shots and running the EC,” he said. He said nobody should point fingers at the EC.
The AAP’s defeat was certain because for their “poor” performance in Delhi, he said. (PTI)
